Ask Idocsteve your eye and vision related questions here!

[Skylla]

Skylla,

You are experiencing the condition known as "presbyopia", which is the natural loss of nearpoint vision due to the progressive increase in rigidity of the intraocular crystalline lens of the human eye. There is nothing you can do to prevent it, there's nothing you did to cause it, and it is not related to any of the things you mentioned in your post.

One suggestion: Get yourself to your local optometrist and get a pair of Rx reading glasses, not the over the counter magnifier/readers.

Why?

-OTC readers do not have quality optical lenses
-the frames are poor quality and are rarely adjusted properly
-the lenses do not correct imbalances between the two eyes that most people have, however small they may be.
-the lenses to not correct astigmatism, which is an out of roundness of the eyes, which causes blur. Many people have this.
-the lenses are not measured so that the optical centers line up with the centers of your eyes, known as "pupillary distance". This in effect results in you reading through "induced prism".

Last time I went to the eye doctor....I got a pair of bi-focals, I don't think I spelled that right but you know what I mean.  They were expensive.

I am one who looses glasses.....all the time.....they just disappear....so I buy the cheap glasses...I call them "disposable" glasses.  And that is what they are, but I suspected they are not good for my eyes.

But you are right, I do need to go to the eye doctor again, my husband has been telling me to do just that for years now.  I lost my prescription glasses about 6 years ago and I never went back.  My bad.

[wizer]

I am one who looses glasses.....all the time.....they just disappear....so I buy the cheap glasses...I call them "disposable" glasses.  And that is what they are, but I suspected they are not good for my eyes.

To clarify..

"disposable" glasses are not "bad for your eyes". You aren't going to damage your eyes or make your vision worse by using them. What might happen is:

-you will fatigue more rapidly when reading
-the vision will not be as clear
-you might lose your place
-comprehension might not be as good
-you could get headaches

Those are some examples.

I forgot to mention (actually I DID mention it but I lost the post because when I went looking for an image I reloaded the browser by mistake and had to retype it)...

EVERYONE experiences presbyopia at some point, usually between 39-45, most commonly 42-43. Some people don't notice it because they are nearsighted (blurred distance vision) and they simply take off their glasses to read..or they tolerate the blur, or they have long arms and push the print further out which buys them more time. But sooner or later, they have to deal with it too.

[Greek]

What are floaters? I get them

Also, this was 10 yrs ago, I puked up one night and there a million fast moving floaters for about 30 seconds?

[wizer]

What are floaters? I get them

Also, this was 10 yrs ago, I puked up one night and there a million fast moving floaters for about 30 seconds?

Floaters are most often due to the degeneration or age related break down of the vitreous, which is the jelly-like substance that fills up most of the eye. After a period of coughing, or exercise, or puking as in your case, the contents of the vitrous can be "shaken up" like a snowglobe and be more obvious.

I grabbed most of this as a cut and paste from another site, it covers it quite well:

Simple floaters most commonly occur due to degeneration within the vitreous jelly. The hyaluronic acid component, which normally separates the invisible vitreal fibres, collapses. Then the fibres stick together and become apparent to the patient; this is particularly noticeable against a bright background or a blue sky, or when very tired. These are harmless.

Pathological floaters are those in which there are floaters with accompanying features. These may include soreness, redness, and loss of part of the visual field, or a reduction in vision. Any of these symptoms deserve prompt assessment by an expert to ensure that the person is not developing inflammatory eye diseases like iritis or choroiditis; there are many causes for these conditions, but treatment is needed to minimise damage to the eyes.

Sudden onset of floaters may be due to haemorrhages into the vitreous cavity associated with hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes or retinal breaks. Again, thorough examination is required with the pupil dilated.

For most people, simple floaters are permanent and harmless. After a while, people tend not to notice them so much as the brain lets you ignore them. To limit new ones will depend upon the original cause of the floaters. There are things that can be done by the specialist, such as vitrectomy, and sometimes the judicious use of special laser equipment.

[Greek]

Hyaluronic adid tablest at the health food store: worth taking or BS?

[wizer]

Hyaluronic adid tablest at the health food store: worth taking or BS?

There is some evidence that "ocular vitamins" may have some beneficial effect in preventing macular degeneration and other degenerative conditions of the eye.

They can't hurt...I would take those sooner than Hyaluronic acid tablets.

[Rod Stiffington]

Thinflap Lasik. Worth the risks or not? Yay or nay?

[wizer]

Thinflap Lasik. Worth the risks or not? Yay or nay?

I am not a surgeon and I am not familar with that particular procedure.

Sorry Rod.

Most LASIK surgeons offer free conults...get a few, ask your questions.

[Firecrotch]

Is it possible to get addicted to Visine?

[wizer]

Is it possible to get addicted to Visine?

Its not an addiction, it's called a "rebound" effect. Long term use of antihistamine vasoconstrictors will ultimately cause the exact problem they are designed to treat.

Short term use only! Then get to the root of the problem which is usually a dry eye or an allergy...

[Rod Stiffington]

Ever hear of a supplement called Bio Tears? Is it worth the price to treat dry eyes?

[wizer]

If a treatment is successful, it's worth every dime.

[fairydust]

hmm so what's going to happen to me.. im 39 and have 20/400 vision in the left eye 20/200 in the right.. what the hell kind of glasses will i be wearing in the future to read?

[Firecrotch]

I kicked the Visine addiction.

[wizer]

hmm so what's going to happen to me.. im 39 and have 20/400 vision in the left eye 20/200 in the right.. what the hell kind of glasses will i be wearing in the future to read?

With that sort of uncorrected visual acuity:

If you're nearsighted then you might not need reading glasses at all.

If you're farsighted, then you'll need fairly strong reading glasses and you'll do well to consider a thinning material which is known in the industry as "high index" lenses.